Would You Eat This Lamb and Couscous Without Utensils?

Last week before interviewing Marcus Samuelsson, I ate his African spiced lamb chops and mango lime couscous. The pairing was delicious: the meat was moist and succulent and the couscous flavorful and exotic.

While the ingredients were not grossly insane, the method for eating the dish was out of the ordinary. There were no serving utensils and the chef requested that we eat the lamb while using the bone to scoop the couscous out of the bowl.

I greatly enjoyed sucking on the lamb bone as it doubled as a spoon, however I can understand how some people might not be interested in eating without utensils. Do you have a problem with it?

aside from the fact that i don't eat lamb, i don't thin kthat i would be able to eat it w/o utensils. my fiance might though...he's more of a pick up the piece of chicken with his fingers and dig in type.

My folk's favorite restaurant for birthday dinners & special occasions is El Mansour (on Clement in SF)- a great, traditional Morroccan restaurant. We have been going there as long as I can remember- the food is great, and so is the belly dancing! But they never used to give out utensils with the meal. The last time we were there, they did drop off a stack of forks, but that was the first time in 25 years- and none of us used them :)

Hey guys I didn't mean to offend anyone with the use of the word savage! I was just trying to make a point. I know that many cultures don't use utensils but I also know that many people prefer to use utensils. As mentioned above I greatly enjoyed the lamb and was merely hoping to stimulate conversation.

Even though I eat with a fork and knife most of the time, I'm completely open to eating the food of different cultures in the way they eat it - whether that is with a pair of chopsticks or my hands! Besides, if you wash your hands first, there shouldn't be any "ick" factor!

Like bengalspice said, I think is offensive that people think eating with a knife and fork is the only civilized way to eat, too. I think eating with your hands is great. You get to experience the food in a completely different way bu being able to feel the texture of the food. Besides, who eats fried chicken or tacos with a knife and fork? =P

I can't imagine eating with your hands as being savage. In fact, I think it's really offensive when people claim that eating with a knife and fork or spoon as being the only civilized way to eat. I once went to a sushi place near Columbia University where the people at the table next to me were cracking jokes about how Asians were smart enough to invent gunpowder, but they weren't smart enough to invent a fork to eat with ... But I guess some Americans find two sticks much more complicated than a piece of metal.
Plus ... I get a kick out of seeing the reaction my friends have to me slurping up daal [lentil soup] and rice with my hands.

I too object to the use of the term "savage". That was one of the more complicated parts of growing up - we had a babysitter who was from the midwest, but we're a Chinese family. So a lot of Chinese customs (slurping noodles, lifting the ricebowl to your lips, etc.) were actually banned as "bad table manners", though in reality she thought we were less civilized. Do you bring your own silverware to Ethiopian restaurants?